


Divergence

by Aiones



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, How Do I Tag, I have no idea, M/M, Magic, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2020-06-25 04:43:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19738546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aiones/pseuds/Aiones
Summary: “You are not our Keith,” Allura butts in, causing everyone in the room to freeze. She had her eyes narrowed but upon speaking her expression softens. She glances at him, a small smile on her face. “When you walked in I noticed that your quintessence wasn’t the same, similar yes, but,” she glanced around the room, taking in everyone's expressions before continuing, “but I believe that you come from another universe.” she finished.Keith isn't sure what to think. Here Shiro has long hair and Lance is brooding and complicated and so unlike anything he associates the usually care free and happy blue paladin that it makes his head spin. He could only begin to imagine what his counterpart is like, because if Lance has taken up residence as the angry red paladin of Voltron, he dares not think about what this Keith is like as the ever opportunistic blue paladin.





	Divergence

**Author's Note:**

> This is something that has been brewing in my head for a while so I hope you enjoy! This is also my first fic so please let me know what you think and sorry if there are any mistakes that I wasn't able to catch!

“Ugh you are unbelievable!” Keith shouted, crossing his arms over his chest and casting a furious glare at the person in front of him. Stupid Lance and his stupid face. 

The boy in question also had his arms crossed, head turned away from Keith as if to avoid the glare he was receiving, face set in a deep scowl. They hadn’t even had the chance to get out of their paladin armor before Keith had come in fuming, yelling at Lance. 

The whole group had just gotten back to the castle after having gotten into a small skirmish with a Galra fleet. Lance, as per usual, had done something completely impulsive during the skirmish that had nearly gotten himself seriously injured, hadn’t it been for Keith interveing at just the right time.

“Why are you so freaking impulsive!” Keith shouted, arms uncrossing and coming down to his sides. He turned away from Lance to see the rest of the group watching them intensely. Allura stepped forward, hands out in a placating manner in an attempt to calm the two down, but before she could say something Keith made a frustrated noise and stalked off towards his room, ignoring Shiro who tried to get in his way. Once the door closed behind him the rest of the crew glanced over at Lance, who still had his arms crossed, an annoyed expression on his face. 

“Lance,” Allura began, stepping forward but Lance had already began to stalk off, muttering a small ‘whatever’ under his breath as he left, presumingly heading to the training room. The crew glanced at each other, before all letting out a sigh as the tension slowly drained from the room. 

Allura let out another weary sigh, hand running down her face as she looked towards the remaining paladins. “We are going to be stopping on Athiea tomorrow so please make sure that they both know, for know I suggest that you all get some rest,” she said. 

The rest of the team nodded, too tired to say anything else before bidding each other goodnight and heading to their respective rooms. Shiro began to head to his room before stopping, looking down the hall to where Keith had disappeared to. He let out a sigh before heading to the paladins room, clearly the fight with Lance struck a chord with Keith and he figured he should probably check up on him. When Shiro got to his room he knocked once, twice, before realizing that Keith wasn’t in. He racked his brain for a moment before a small smile crossed his features, of course. 

Keith was staring at the vastness of space and felt even smaller than usual. He hadn’t meant to blow up on Lance like that, at least not in front of everyone else. He sighed as he settled in deeper into his hoodie, closing his eyes in an attempt to block out the fact that he was far away in space. 

“Hey I thought you would be in here,” Shiro spoke, startling Keith, who turned to glare at him. Shiro let out a small chuckle at his reaction, sitting down next to him and nudging his shoulder. 

Keith huffed but let out a small smile, “What do you want Shiro? can’t you leave me here to brood and wallow in my feelings or whatever?” he asked, turning to look back out into space just as Shiro let out a laugh.

“You? Brooding?” he hummed, “Sounds nothing like the Keith Kogane I know, it does, however, sound like a certain red paladin.” he said, leaning over to nudge his shoulder again. 

Keith felt his face settle into a scowl at the mention of Lance. Stupid Lance and his stupid face and stupid curly hair. Keith felt himself frown more, purposely ignoring Shiro’s questioning stare for a moment before sinking into his hoodie even more. 

“It’s just. He doesn’t even think of what his actions will cost him. Either for himself or for the team.” he mumbled, hoping he could just drown in his hoodie. Shiro hummed and continue to look at him for more of an explanation. Keith let out a deep sigh before standing up abruptly. He walked over towards the large windows of the observation deck. “You think there's some sort of alternate reality or timeline where Lance likes me?” he asked, placing a hand on the glass as if hoping to reach out and touch the stars. After a brief moment of silence heat rose up in Keith’s cheeks as he thought over his words before stuttering out “As a friend! Likes me as a friend Shiro!”

Shiro smirked at Keith’s embarrassment before frowning again as he thought over Keith’s words. “Keith, Lance does like you,” he smiled again before continuing, “as a friend, might I add.” His smile grew as he saw Keith redden. 

Keith huffed, pulling his hand away from the glass before making his way back to his spot and plopping down next to Shiro, pulling his hood up to hide his face. 

“Whatever, you know what I mean,” Keith said. Shiro’s smile grew, patting Keith on the back, he got up from his position on the floor, stretching his hands over his head as we looked down at the red paladin. “We’re going to be landing on Athiea tomorrow to ask them to join the coalition so we should probably head to bed now,” he said offering Keith a hand and helping him up from the floor. 

Keith nodded and let out a yawn, the days events catching up with him, it had been only one Galra fleet but a battle was still a battle. As they neared Keith’s room Shiro ruffled his hair, something he’s done more often now that it was short. Keith growled and swatted at his hands, annoyance clear on his face. Shiro smiled at his annoyance and bid him a good night. Keith is Halfway down the hallway when he calls out,

“Maybe alternate Keith still has his hair.” He grinned as he heard Keith’s exasperated groan. 

__________________________ 

A banging echoed on Keith’s door, startling him from his sleep, a loud voice soon followed the incessant banging. “Get up mullet! We’re going to arrive in Athiea in half a varga!” Keith groaned. Of course. After yesterday’s events Keith had trained for an hour before Shiro had come in to drag him to bed. He frowned as he got up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Did he even shower last night? Lifting his shirt from his chest and taking a whiff confirmed that no. He did not. 

After taking a shower and donning his paladin armor he made his way to where the rest of the group was waiting, taking in the view of the planet that was looming before him. Once he entered Allura clapped her hands once to gather everyone’s attention.

“Alright paladins, as you all know we are going to be landing on the planet Athiea. We are simply here to get them to join the coalition so I expect all of you to be on your best behavior!” She said, casting a knowing look to Keith. Threaten one king one time and that’s all it takes to get a special ‘be on your best behavior’ after every speech. 

Lance piped up from his place besides Hunk, amusement dripping from his voice, “Yeah Keith we all know what happened on Kevunerth.” He said, a smirk on his lips as he saw Keith’s face sour. 

Keith scowled, turning to make a comment of his own before Allura cleared her throat, casting a reprimanding look to Lance.

“Look alive paladins, we’re here,” she said turning away from them to navigate the castle into the atmosphere of the planet. 

The planet was smaller than that of other planets they had been, bright green spots decorated its surface but it was mostly covered in sandy browns, along with that there was a deep blue ocean that covered a good portion of the planet itself. Lance felt his breath hitch and excitement build up. They hadn’t been to many planets where there had been an ocean and this one looked beautiful.

The palace of the Athiea people looked as though ancient greek architecture and the Disney movie Atlantis had a child. The people of Athiea were all tall, easily towering over the paladins and were ranged in colors from deep gold to light gold. The party that had come to lead them to the palace all had four eyes, what made them different is that some Athieans had four arms while others had two. Coran had told them that the people of Athiea held a great respect for their gods and that they should all be careful lest they offend one of their gods unknowingly. 

“Welcome paladins of Voltron,” a booming voice echoed off the walls of the palace as soon as they stepped into the throne room. Inside was an Atheian covered in fine silk robes with a grand headpiece, her four eyes glistening as she walked into the room, her four arms raised in a welcoming gesture, “I am the Queen of Athiea, Natiri, welcome.” She said, bowing slightly to the paladins before gesturing to a woman standing beside her. 

“This is my daughter princess Almina,” the girl before them also gave her own bow. The princess also had four arms like her mother, and fine silks also adorned her.

Allura smiled at them both kindly, breaking apart from the group to thank them for allowing Voltron to stay in the palace while they discussed an alliance. “I am princess Allura of Altea and these are the paladins of Voltron, as you are aware,” she said, gesturing to the group. The Queen nodded, a small smile forming her face as she glanced at the paladins before her. 

“If you would like, princess, my daughter would be more than willing to give them a tour of our city while we discuss this alliance,” the Queen said, looking to her daughter who stepped forward when her mother had mentioned her. “It would help pass the time until the grand party to celebrate Voltrons arrival begins later tonight.” she finished looking at Allura expectantly. 

Allura agreed, asking that Shiro stay behind to help with the negotiations but that the others go and enjoy the tour. Once they left princess Almina stepped forward a warm smile on her face. She was just as tall as the other Athieans, her hair done up in intercrait braids and a small circlet served as her only piece of jewelry. “Hello I am princess Almina, but you may call me Mina,” she said, voice soft and light. 

Lance immediately stepped forward and Keith rolled his eyes, of course. “The name’s Lance, paladin of the blue lion, sharpshooter of Voltron, you know,” he shrugged, giving her a dazzling smile, “defender of the universe,” he finished. The princess let out a small giggle, cheeks tinting a dark gold. Beside him Pidge rolled their eyes and Keith felt his face sink into a scowl before trying to immediately smoothing his expression, the last thing he wanted was to come across as rude.

After they all introduced themselves they began their tour of the city of Atov, the capital. The city was beautiful and bustling with life all around them. Children raced around them and some followed the paladins, entranced by their armor and curious to see just who the defenders of the universe were. 

Hunk and Pidge had stuck for the initial beginnings of the tour but had soon detoured from the group as soon as they saw a sleek like vessel fly above them, eager to find out what exactly what the hell it was and eager to explore the technological advances of the Athieans. Leaving Lance, Keith, and the princess alone. 

“But of course that was no big deal for a sharpshooter like myself,” Lance said, giving the princess another dazzling smile. The princess giggled at his actions, another golden blush coloring her high cheekbones. Keith frowned, Lance had been flirting with her on and off for the past hour of so of the tour and the more it continued Keith found himself getting more and more irritated. 

He glanced around him noticing how the crowd had thinned out from bustling street vendors and shoppers to a few Athieans. They had covered a good portion of the city so far and had made to the outskirts of the town on the rocky cliffs that overlooked the deep blue sea. Around them small and large temples dotted the cliffs, small groups of Athieans gathered at them, some on their knees, head bowed in prayer and others wandering further inside the temples. Further up ahead down a secluded path away from the other temples was a temple that, according to Mina, belonged to one of the more worshipped goddesses in her culture.

“That temple belongs to the goddess Kele, the goddess of time and change,” she said, nodding her head to the temple. The temple was grand and looked to Keith like something straight out of a history textbook about Greece, it was situated further away from the other temples, higher up on the cliffs so that it stood out amongst the others, and while it was beautiful, Keith couldn’t help but feel wary of the structure.

“Kele is personally one of my favorites of the many gods and goddesses that we have, her stories are always so entertaining, do you mind if we stop by?” she asked hesitantly turning to look at her company. The two boys shook their head and they made their way to the temple.

Inside the temple was dark, illuminated by blue flames. Two other Athieans were inside admiring the stone etchings of the temple that told the story of Kele but other than that it was quiet, unlike the other temples that they had seen. Mina had nodded to the two boys, quickly explaining that she was going to go say a quick prayer before heading down a dark hallway where the main alter to Kele was. 

Keith glanced at Lance, feeling suddenly awkward at being left alone with the paladin. “You know,” he began, trying to make the silence a little less uncomfortable, “you could cool it with the flirithing we all know what happened last time,” Keith said cringing internally. This is not how you start a conversation Keith! He scolded himself. He also hadn’t meant for the words to come out as rude as they did but the way Lance turned to glare at him indicated otherwise. 

“Psh, whatever mullet, this isn’t going to be like ‘last time’,” he said, crossing his arms, cheeks slightly red. Last time Lance had flirted with an alien nobility the King had heavily advocated for a marriage between the two, since apparently he was trying to wed off his daughter as soon as possible. Then there had been some confusion involving alien customs and traditions and for a brief, and hilarious moment Lance was engaged. Allura had to do a lot of damage control that day and gave Lance quite the earful about being cautious when flirting with alien princesses.  
Keith sighed heavily as Lance gave him another glare before turning his back on him to look at the etchings in the wall. Keith turned away from the paladin, choosing to lean against one of the pillars in the temple, he cast a glance at Lance and watched as he traced along the etchings of the temple. 

Their relationship had been better since they first met way back then but they still fought an awful lot. ‘It’s not like its my fault Lance is so annoying,’ Keith thought, eyebrows furrowing. Another thought passed through his head, ‘Yeah but its not his fault either that you fight him back,’ it said. Keith frowned, ‘shut up’ he told the voice in his head. 

Leaning away from the pillar he focused his attention on the etchings of the temple, the earlier worshipers in the temple had left, leaving the area more open. The etchings were in the alien language spoken by the people of Athiea so he couldn’t understand any of the stories that were displayed but they were beautiful to look at. 

He pressed his hand against them, feeling the smooth stone and the dips of the letters and symbols beneath his gloved hand. The goddess of time and change huh. Keith thought of his life and the different possibilities that it could have taken. If he had stayed in the Garrison would he be here right now as a paladin of Voltron? If his father hadn’t passed away how different would his life been, how different would Keith had been? He sighed and bent down to press his head against the cool stone. In another time would Lance actually like him?

Suddenly all around him the etchings lit up in a brilliant blue light, temporary illuminating their surroundings before quickly disappearing as soon as it came. Keith startled and backed away from the wall quickly as though burned. He turned to face Lance who was also looking bewiderly at the walls in front of him. “Did you see that?” he asked, quickly glancing at the walls, as if waiting for them to turn blue once again, Lance opened his mouth to respond when the princess suddenly appeared again. 

Before they could ask any questions on if she herself noticed the temple turning blue they were rushed right out. Apparently they only had a half an hour or so before the party would begin, which was strange to Keith and Lance since it only felt like they were inside the temple for no less than 30 minutes. 

“Time sometimes works differently in the temple of Kele,” the princess explained, rushing them through the crowd of people to get back to the palace, “Some days it is normal and others it is warped, but usually that only happens on days dedicated to the goddess, I can’t explain why it happened today.” She finished, rushing them towards the doors of the palace. 

Inside Athiean servants rushed about putting finishing touches on the grand ballroom where the party would be held. The doors had opened and crowds of people began to trickle in, some dressed in fine silks and glittering jewels that let others know of their nobility. Others dressed in simple clothing, presumably the common people of the city. In one corner was Hunk and Pidge, talking animatedly about the technological advancements of the Athieans. “Well would you look at that their still alive!” Pidge shouted upon spotting the trio, causing a few heads to turn and look at the small paladin. Hunk lightly smacked Pidge on their shoulder, who in turn gave him an unimpressed look. 

“So what did you guys see? Anything cool? Exciting? Pidge and I saw this really cool ship you guys should have seen it!” Hunk said when the group had reached them, smiling brightly. 

The princess went on to explain how they only saw the city and a few of the temples before two grand doors opened revealing Queen Natiri with Allura and Shiro. The servants, having finished with their final touches of the ballroom all stood at attention, the crowd instantly ceased their chatter, all bowing once the Queen had made her way to the center of the ballroom. “People of Athiea, we have reached an alliance with the paladins of Voltron!” she spoke, voice carrying in the spacious room. “Let the celebratory party begin!” she said, clapping her hands together. 

__________________________

Lance leaned against one of the pillars in the ballroom, watching as the party truly got underway. He wanted more than anything to just be back in the castle in his own room but Allura had said that they would be staying the night in the palace, and as tempting as it was to head back to the castle he knew it would most likely result in an earful from her. Sighing he crossed his arms as he glanced at the crowd of dancing Athieans. The music was soft and light and they all danced with a grace that Lance could never hope to replicate. 

Across the ballroom he watched as Keith bowed before Prince Almenor, giving him a bright smile, presumably asking him to dance. He rolled his eyes, Keith had been flirting with the prince on and off all day, and each time he had to watch Keith give the prince a stupid, flirty smile it made him more and more irritated. He huffed and crossed his arms, wishing more strongly now to be back in the castle and away from the crowds. 

A tap on the shoulder pulled him from his thoughts, he glanced down to notice Pidge holding a drink in their hand, offering out to him. Lance took it, looking at the sparkling green drink, “This isn’t anything like nunvill, is it?” he asked, looking at them suspiciously. 

Pidge let out a laugh, “If it was I wouldn’t be drinking it,” they said, holding out the cup in cheers before taking a drink. Lance smiled before lifting his cup in cheers as well and taking a swig. The drink was fizzy and tasted like a capri sun, but off. 

Pidge stood next to him for a while, both enjoying the noise of the party before a loud laugh captured their attention. In the middle of the ballroom stood Prince Almenor with Keith in his arms, head thrown back in laughter. Lance frowned, his somewhat good mood spoiling at seeing Keith’s cheeks turn a light pink at the princes laughter. He felt a sharp prod at his ribs and he winced, looking down to glare at Pidge. They had a mischievous smile on their face and Lance felt his cheeks heat at the attention. 

“What?” he said, feeling as though he got caught doing something he shouldn’t have been doing. 

“Oh nothing it just- if you want to dance with Keith so badly you could of just ask, you know, instead of glaring daggers at the Prince.” 

Lance felt his face heat up even more, his cheeks flushing with heat and the tips of his ears feeling hot as he began to sputter at Pidge’s comment. “I-I do not want to dance with him Pidge!” he finally managed to sputter out, face still feeling hot. 

Pidge just smirked, giving Lance a knowing look. “Yeah yeah sure Lance, whatever you say,” they said, shrugging their shoulders nonchalantly. “Come talk to me though when your ready to accept your feelings!” they added, turning away from the flustered boy before walking away. 

“When you accept what?” a voice behind Lance piped up, startling him. Lance whipped around to find Keith standing behind him, faced flushed a warm red and a small smile on his face as he looked at Pidge’s retreating form. Lance felt his face heat up again, stupid Keith and his stupid pretty face. “Oh! Uh, nothing just, uh, it’s-nothing,” he finished lamely, avoiding Keith’s eyes by turning to look at the dance floor. Lance felt Keith move so that they were both standing shoulder to shoulder watching as Athieans danced and mingled with one another. 

“Shouldn’t you be with the prince?” Lance asked, turning away from the crowd to fix Keith with a look. He felt himself wince, he hadn’t meant for it to come out as harsh as it sounded. Keith huffed, also turning away from the crowd to give Lance an unimpressed look before an impish smile slowly made its way onto his face. “Why,” he asked, and Lance knew he had made a mistake. “You jealous?” Keith finished, smile turning into a full on grin. Lance felt his already warm face flush and instantly he scowled.

“Whatever,” he muttered, turning away from Keith’s smiling face to look back into the crowd. Some Athiean priest had managed to drag Shiro onto the dance floor and watching Shiro try and dance with said priest was quite the sight. 

Lance noticed how the crowd seemed to come closer to where they were and suddenly felt very claustrophobic, being too close to Keith and the crowd and his dumb face just kept flushing. Looking around the ballroom he found a pair of open doors leading to what looked like a garden and bolted, ignoring Keith's indignant “Hey!”

Outside was quiet and warm, only a few Athieans milled about the royal gardens enjoying the warm weather and pleasant music coming from the ballroom. Lance quickly glanced around the garden before darting to the left, where there was practically no one. After going through a series of twists and turns he finally finds a seat beneath a large statue resembling that of an ancient Greek statue. He lets out a breath, his heart beating fast in his chest begins to slow down and he feels himself relax.

“What the hell man?” A voice shouted, startling Lance into action, hand reaching for the bayard on his belt. “Whoa whoa whoa it's just me!” shouted Keith, hands held up as if in surrender. 

Lance let out a breath he wasn’t aware he was holding, the adrenaline of the surprise already working its way out of his system. Slowly he puts down his bayard, shooting a glare at Keith. 

“What is wrong with you! I could’ve hurt you!” 

“Oh calm down I know you wouldn’t hurt me Lance,” Keith said, rolling his eyes at Lance’s outburst.

Lance lets out yet another sigh and sits back down on the bench, putting his bayard back on his belt and putting his head in his hands. He suddenly felt very exhausted, spending the day traveling around a crowded city and now at an extravagant party. Lance wished for nothing more than to just head back to his room on the castle and pass out.

He heard Keith walk towards where he sat on the bench and felt him take a seat next to him, a hesitant hand coming to pat him on the back reassuringly. “Hey are you okay?” Keith asked, tilting his head to try and get Lance to look him in the eye.

Lance peeked from behind his fingers to look at Keith, the paladins eyes were shining with concern, thick eyebrows furrowed and teeth gnawing at his bottom lip, a nervous habit he often did when he was worried. 

Lance felt his heart swell at the image and put his hands down, running them instead through his curly hair. Taking a deep breath he turned to properly look at Keith, who turned his head upright, his hand falling from Lance’s back as he saw the paladin straighten from his hunched position. Lance gave him a weak smile before actually getting a look at his surroundings.

The royal gardens were beautiful, what looked to be white roses bloomed all around them, but unlike the roses on earth they gave off a slight glow, illuminating the entire garden. Lance had run into a small clearing in the garden, a fountain was just before him and around him a circle of roses, giving the pair privacy. There were four statues in the garden as well, each one modeled after what looked to be Athieans but much more ethereal. Lance guessed that they were probably modeled after the gods that the Athieans believed in. 

After looking at his surroundings Lance quickly realized just how romantic it really was. The way the roses softly glowed left everything in a stunning low light and turning to look at Keith he felt his breath hitch. Keith looked stunning in the light, his violet eyes shining in a way that Lance had never really noticed before while on the castle ship. 

“Beautiful,” he thought, looking into Keith’s eyes. 

Keith felt the tips of his ears grow warm, “W-what?” he stuttered looking at Lance to see if he had heard him right.

Lance blinked once, twice, before realizing that he had spoken out loud, face flushing a brilliant red. “I-I mean the, uh, the garden!” he shouted, “yeah the garden! Its, uh, really uhm, beautiful,” he finished, voicing trailing off at the end in embarrassment. Keith blinked before turning to also look at the garden they were in, realizing that Lance was right, it was beautiful. 

“Oh-oh yeah, uh your right! It is pretty um, beautiful,” Keith said, eyes still taking in the beauty of the roses and the soft light that came from them. Lance felt his face flush even more at the sudden awkwardness that descended upon the two of them, ‘and just when things were going normal,’ he thought, once again bring his hands up to scrub at his face, letting out a groan. 

Keith turned to look at Lance, bewildered by his sudden turn in behavior, “uh, you okay?” he asked looking at Lance more carefully. 

Lance felt frustrated, making him feel annoyed and angry at himself and before he could even begin to process what he was saying, he opened his mouth to speak, “It’s nothing, why don’t you just go back to your little prince and leave me alone,” he said, the last part coming out harsh. 

Keith face dropped, any trace of happiness that was there earlier faded away, his eyes going hard and mouth forming a deep frown. Lance groaned internally, ‘good going Lance you made him mad’ he thought. 

Keith abruptly stood up, pulling Lance from his thoughts as he began to pace in front of him, mumbling something in another language before rounding on Lance. “Why are you so-so unbelievable!” he shouted, arms coming up as if to show just how unbelievable Lance was. 

Lance felt himself shrink, but also felt a flare of anger, as always when Keith shouted at him, he stood up as well, hands clenching, causing his nails to bite into his palm. “Whatever, I'm going back inside,” he said, voice calm yet hiding an anger. 

He shoved past Keith to find his way out of the garden when he heard a frustrated yell come from the blue paladin. “Typical Lance Mcclain running from his problems instead of actually talking about whats wrong!” Keith shouted after him, and Lance froze.

A searing anger boiled up inside him at the use of his name, leaving a sour taste in his mouth. Who was Keith to judge him when he had no idea who he was. He quickly turned around, startling Keith as he quickly walked back to where he was still standing, arms crossed and eyebrow raised, waiting to see what Lance had to say.

“You don’t get to say that when you have no idea who I am,” he said harshly, glaring at the paladin and jabbing a finger into his armor.

Keith rolled his eyes, shoving Lance away from him, “If you weren’t so damn closed off then maybe I would know more about you!” he said, glaring right back at Lance and not backing down.

Lance felt his anger flare but before he could get in another word a small voice sounded from behind him. Both of them turned to find a young Athiean servant standing at one of the entrances to the garden, her face twisted into an anxious expression, her four eyes wide.

“Uhm, sorry to, uh, interrupt your conversation, but the party has come to an end and the Queen has requested that I show you both to your, uh, rooms,” the Athiean said, twirling her fingers nervously.

Lance looked at the Athiean before looking towards Keith and deflated, anger leaving him as quickly as it came. He turned to Keith to say something but the paladin simply brushed past him without so much as a glance.

“Please lead the way,” Keith said in a pleasant voice, “I believe the red paladin still needs some air, you can show him to his room after you show me to mine,” he said, his words leaving no room for argument. Before the Athiean servant could say anything Keith begin walking past her towards the palace, forcing the Athiean to struggle between following him or staying with Lance. 

“Red paladin,” she said, deciding to follow after the quickly disappearing blue paladin, “I will send another servant to fetch you,” she said, turning to try to catch up to Keith’s strides, “So sorry have a good night!” she called out as she walked away to catch up to Keith. 

Lance watched until the two figures disappeared behind the glowing bushes and let out a deep sigh. “Porque eres tan pendejo!” he shouted to no one in particular, scrubbing his hands over his face before sitting back down on the bench. It wasn’t long before another Athiean servant came to fetch him to take him to his room for the night.

“I hope you have a good night red paladin,” the servant, Veero, said bowing slightly before heading off into the night. Lance watched as he left before looking at the door and leaning his head against the smooth wood. He heard more footsteps coming down the hall and lifted his head to see Pidge waving their hands in an animated gesture to the Athiean showing them to their room. 

The Athiean smiled at the green paladins enthusiasm bowing slightly before speaking, “Good night green paladin, I hope you sleep well,” she said, standing up to her full height. 

“Good night to you to Meiana, and good luck on your project!” she shouted after the servant, earning her a small laugh and a thanks as she made her way back down the hallway she came down.

Pidge turn to look at Lance, smiling face freezing before slowly working into a frown. They studied him for a minute before speaking, “So, did you ask Keith to dance?” they asked, crossing their arms and raising an eyebrow. 

Lance studied them before sighing and answering, “No, I freaked out and yelled at him instead,” he said, shoulders sagging at the thought of the fight that he had with him.

Pidge tsked and crossed their arms, leaning against the door frame. “Did you figure it out at least?” they asked eyebrows furrowing in concern.

Lance stayed silent. He wanted to pretend that he didn’t know what they were talking about but the feeling in his gut, and the thoughts that were swirling around in his head told him otherwise. He cast his eyes downward, trying to avoid Pidge’s piercing stare as he tried to come up with an answer. After a minute of silence he simply shrugged his shoulders, eyes still looking down at the marble floor. 

“You know pushing your feelings away from you won’t help,” Pidge said. 

Lance lifted his head to look at them, “I know Pidge, I know, can you please just-leave me alone?” he said, voice quiet and defeated.

Pidge sighed, stepping forward to reach out to pat Lance on the back, “You know im always here for you right?” they asked looking at lance with bright eyes.

Lance nodded, “Of course Pidge, now get some sleep, ok?” he said, reaching out and ruffling their hair. Pidge made a disgruntled noise, reaching to slap Lance’s hands away before giving him a smile and turning to go to their own room. 

__________________________

The next morning the paladins were all woken up early to have breakfast with the Queen, Mina, and some of the more higher ranking Athiean officials before they were to go back to the castle and leave the planet. As they sat around the table and discussed the Galra and what to do if they should attack an Athiean servant rushed through the doors, causing a loud bang as the doors flew open with force. 

The servant, Veero, blushed at the attention and looked sheepish to have caused such a commotion but soon straightened his face, bowing and delivering his message. “Your highness,” he began, slowly straightening out so that he was standing but his head remained bowed.

“The high priestess of Atov has requested an audience with the paladins of voltron an-” before Veero could finish his sentence the doors once again burst open as another Athiean came into the room.

This Athiean wore a long dark cloak with the hood pulled up to conceal their face, the Queen immediately stood up, followed by Mina. The rest of the nobility followed suit, standing to face the priestess before bowing. The Queen had a frown on her face, all four eyes narrowing at the Athiean who had just come in unannounced.

“Priestess Ahalee you can not just barge into--” 

The Priestess held up her hand, “into my palace unannounced demanding an audience with the paladins of Voltron, yes I know Queen Natiri but all I ask is that I may speak with the red paladin before he leaves the planet.” 

The queen blinked, before a scowl formed on her face, she let out a sigh before dropping down into her seat. Mina glanced at her mother and then to the other officials in the room, slowly she lowered herself into her seat and the others followed. “Fine then Ahalee, you may deliver your message after we have finished here,” the queen said, waving one of her hands. 

The Priestess nodded, “I will be waiting in the palace alter,” she said before turning away and walking out of the room. 

The paladins looked at each other before all turning their heads to look at Keith. He sat there with an unreadable expression, mouth pulled into a frown. Allura cleared her throat, “So, what were we, uh, discussing?” she asked getting everyone at the table to start talking again.

Keith could barely pay attention to what was happening at the table, instead focusing on cloaked Priestess that had left. No one had brought up why the priestess had wanted to see him of all people. He felt a nudge on his shoulder and turned to his left to see Lance giving him a concerned look.

“Hey are you okay? What do you think that Priestess lady was all about?” he whispered, leaning in close so that no one else would hear them. Keith furrowed his eyebrows raising his eyes to meet Lance’s.

Keith hadn’t realized how close the two were, he could see just how blue Lances eyes were and recalled how beautiful they were even now in the morning. He felt his cheeks warm and turned away, crossing his arms and shrugging. After the two had gotten back from the tour the other day and the party began, Lance had followed Keith out to a balcony that overlooked the royal gardens, they had talked and when Keith realized just how beautiful Lance was when he laughed the princess had come to get him. 

Lance didn’t seem like he wanted to go with her but that could’ve been Keith’s imagination, since he was flirting with her the entire day. He had snapped at him to leave and had felt bad about the sad expression that had crossed his features but Lance had also snapped right back and left with the princess, leaving Keith by himself on the balcony. Shiro had come sometime later asking him questions on the two, and god had that been awkward. 

Zoning back in on the conversation Keith noticed the queen standing up from her seat along with Allura, the rest of the table also stood up, Keith scrambled to stand from his own seat. The rest of the guests thanked the queen for such an impeccable feast and made promises to see her again before they began to exit the hall. Allura shook hands with the queen, thanking her again for allowing them to stay in her palace, “Nonsense princess Allura, it was my pleasure to house the defenders of the universe if just for one night,” the queen said.

Suddenly the queen turned to look at Keith, “Dear paladin, please allow my daughter escort you to the royal altar room, where Priestess Ahalee is waiting,” she said raising one of her hands to gesture to her daughter. Keith blinked, oh right he had almost forgotten about that. 

“Oh, uh, thank you your highness,” he said awkwardly turning to face the princess, who was already by the doors. 

Before he could leave a voice piped up from the table, “Shouldn’t one of us be going with him?” Asked Lance, glancing at Keith before looking towards Allura and the queen. 

“That is a great idea Lance, why don’t you accompany him?” she asked before turning to the queen, “If that is alright with you Queen Natiri,” she added.

The queen laughed, “Oh that is perfectly fine with me, it depends really on how Ahalee will react, but nonetheless you may join them blue paladin,” she said, a fond smile on her face. “Ahalee is one of our finests priestesses but she has a way of going about and doing as she pleases, as one claimed by the goddess Kele tends to do,” she finished.

Lance looked between the two, he didn’t mean to volunteer himself but it was too late to back out. “Ah, yeah okay then lead the way Mina!” he said before quickly looking at the queen and correcting himself, “Ah, uh, I mean princess Almina.” The group made their way out of the dining hall and down to the palace alter.  
On the way there Mina and Lance made conversation while Keith followed behind them. He wasn’t focusing much on what they were saying, instead choosing to mull over what the priestess wanted to see him for, it was nerve wracking. The trio made their way up into the palace, taking many twists and turns and taking stairs that led them deeper into the palace. Finally Mina paused in front of a large ornate door, she knocked once and someone opened the door, letting them in without so much as a word. 

Inside was lit up brightly, large windows flooded the place with a warm light. The room was round and large, filled with trinkets and plants native to Athiea, in the center of the room was a bronze fire pit, in it blue fire burning away. From a small room to the left Ahalee emerged, in one of her hands a small bowl. She wore no cloak this time, revealing her face to Keith and Lance. 

The Priestess had long dark braids, face painted in interact white swirls and patterns that shone brightly against her dark gold skin, she also had four eyes but unlike other Athieans a pair of her eyes were clouded a milky white. She was dressed in fine white silks, she also wore silver rings and bracelets that glinted in the sunny room. She walked towards the center of the room, throwing whatever was in the bowl into the blue flame, causing it to flare brightly. 

“Red paladin you may step forward, Zadra, may you please escort Mina and the blue paladin back to the queen?” she asked, as the same servant who allowed them to enter stepped forward. Lance spoke out, “Is it okay if I stay?” he asked, glancing towards Zadra before looking at Ahalee.

Ahalee let out a sigh, “You may stay paladin but not in the room, Zadra, if you will,” she said, gesturing toward the door again. Zadra had an apologetic expression on her face, whispering a small sorry as she escorted them out of the room.

__________________________

Once the door closed Lance paced back and forth, the prince had gone back to meet with his mother and left him alone in front of the ornate doors. Keith had been so bubbly going up to meet with the priestess, happily chatting with the prince about everything and nothing. He had barely spared Lance a glance, apparently the fight that they had still fresh in his mind, he had only looked at him when Allura volunteered him to go with Keith as a precaution.

Lance scowled, wondering what was happening inside the room. The priestess, Ahalee, had barged into the dining room demanding an audience with the blue paladin immediately, causing the queen to get into a verbal altercation with the priestess. She had agreed to wait until after breakfast but had left one of her apprentices, Zadra, in the room to ensure that Keith went to see her immediately after he was done eating. 

Everyone had been on the edge, especially after the whole fight between the queen and Ahalee so Allura had volunteered Lance to go with them. Lance stopped pacing, looking at the door and crossing his arms. It couldn’t have been no more than five minutes but Lance felt agitated, he considered trying to open the door but before he could they flew open. Zadra guided Keith out to the hallway and closed the door promptly once he was out. He looked dazed, his cheeks a warm red and he was holding something in his hand. 

“That was, uh, something,” he said, opening his closed fist to reveal a small amulet. It was shimmering a bright blue, like the fire that was used to light up the temple, it was smooth and round looking, encased in a gold cage and hanging from a thin black string. Lance studied the amulet before looking at Keith, he wanted to ask him questions about what happened but when Keith lifted his gaze from the amulet to meet his eyes his own widen, and he hurriedly pushed past him, “Zadra said that if we go up these stairs that Veero should be there to take us back to the others,” he said, already making his way up the staircase. Lance frowned, was he really still mad about last night? He sighed before following him back up the stairs. 

The group was waiting for Keith anxiously, all standing tensely while the queen made small talk with Allura. When Keith finally made it through the doors with Lance the group instantly relaxed, “What you all missed me?” he said, shooting everyone a smile and winking. 

Pidge groaned loudly, “You could’ve disappeared for all we cared,” they said, everyone laughed.

The same party that had welcomed them to the palace escorted them back to the castle, stocking them well with native fruits and edible plants from the palace kitchen before sending them off. 

The castle took their ascent into the sky, opening a wormhole to make way for yet another planet system. It had been another hour or so before any of the team had a chance to get into their regular clothes, debriefing on what the alliance with Athiea entailed and where they would be heading next. 

Keith could hardly wait to get out of his paladin armor, really everyone couldn’t wait to put on their regular clothes, spending a day and a half in paladin armor was just something no one wanted to do. 

After making sure to take a long hot shower he put on his black and white baseball tee before slipping his navy blue and white hoodie over his head and dark jeans. On his way out he noticed the necklace on his bed, still there from when he tossed the thing before hitting the shower. 

He sat down and picked up the necklace, admiring how the blue shimmered. Ahalee had worked around him, tossing random ingredients into the bright blue fire in the middle of the room and sometimes tilting her head to look behind Keith and other times talking out loud before pausing and blinking, grabbing at a bracelet on her wrist as if to ground herself. 

“Your lucky,” she muttered, tossing in another ingredient into the fire before quickly glancing at him, “he gets to travel, poor thing” she paused, snorting, “And by the looks of it, he still has a while to go before coming home.”

Keith had been uncomfortable, watching as she flit from one side of the room to the other muttering and tossing ingredients to the ever growing blue fire. Finally she paused, and turned towards Keith, a smile gracing her lips. She walked towards him and Keith cautiously moved his hand towards his bayard. 

“Relax, blue paladin, I am sorry if I made you uncomfortable,” she said, a small golden blush coloring her cheeks, “my mind travels faster than I can keep up with, a gift from the mighty goddess, I supposed,” she said, eyes finding its way down in a far away look. Keith had assured her that it was okay before asking what exactly she needed to see him for. 

She smiled as she grabbed him by the wrist, dragging him closer to the blue fire in the center, “Blue paladin, am I wrong to assume that you have feeling for the red one?” she asked, and Keith sputtered.

“W-what? Lance? No, I--he’s,” Keith felt his face heat up as the priestess’ smile grew, “I--it’s,” he sighed deeply, looking into the alluring blue flames as he thought of the red paladin, his laugh and his rare smiles and how beautiful he looked when facing down a particularly challenging simulation level. He thought more and more of Lance Mcclain and fell deeper into the realization of just how much he consumed him. 

“Maybe,” he muttered, face still feeling warm. A hand rested on his shoulder, and he looked up to see Ahalee giving him a soft smile. 

“I don’t meddle,” she said, causing Keith to look at her strangely, “I really don’t but this is this--” she trailed off eyes glazing over and hand tightening on Keiths shoulder before she releases. Turning to the fire and muttering under her breath about “distracting gunslinging--” before breaking off into another language all together. 

She tossed one final ingredient into the fire, causing it to burst wildly from its pot and then disappear all together. She leaned in to look at the pot before pulling out a small trinket, the necklace, he would come to realize. She had thrust the necklace into his hands before spinning him towards the exit, Keith had tried to ask her what it meant but she just kept mumbling, sometimes in English and other times in her native language.

He had left with more questions than answers but all of them flew from his head when he saw that Lance was still waiting for him. He gave the necklace one last look before looping it around his neck and leaving his room.

Keith made his way to what was considered the living room where he found Hunk already there, messing with some trinket or another. “Hey Keith! What you up to?” he asked, looking up to wave at him before going back to his trinket.

Keith sat down next to him, letting out a sigh, “Nothing much, what are you working on?” he asked, leaning over to try and get a better look at the object.

“It’s just a, uh,” he trailed off leaning in closer to the device to mess with something, “a toy? I think?” he finished, holding the object away from him so that Keith could also get a look at it. They both studied the object, watching as it shifted colors, it was round and flat, the middle shifting from a bright blues and purples. 

Keith squinted at the object, it reminded him of the portal that Allura used to wormhole them away. He opened his mouth to say so when the object sparked, causing Hunk to drop it in surprise with a small yelp. He was just about to ask Hunk what the hell that was when Hunk gave another gasp, “Keith your chest!” he said, scooting away from the boy quickly. 

Keith looked down at his chest and noticed how the necklace he was wearing was warm, too warm. Not only that but it was glowing softly at first but still bright enough to shine through his hoodie. Keith reached to pull the damn thing off of him before it flashed and.

__________________________

It happened all at once and in a brilliant white flash before anyone realizes what happened. One second Keith is sitting silently on the couch, watching as Lance watches Hunk work on a small trinket given to him before he notices a soft glow coming from his pocket and how it grows brighter and brighter and then he blinks and its gone.

Keith gasps, coming to consciousness all at once before groaning. His body aches like he just went 10 rounds in the training simulator and got his ass handed to him. He also feels wrong, like when a piece of furniture suddenly takes up space in another corner of a room, it belongs there but just not in that corner. Keith groans as he sits up from his bed, before it hits him that he was in the common area, and then the flash and--Keith feels sick. 

He quickly leaps off of his bed, sliding towards the door and out into the hallway, he makes his way towards the common area again, wondering how he got to his bed and just what that blinding flash and just as he remembers the necklace in his pocket he bumps into someone who gasps and grabs onto his shoulders and then he's being dragged into a crushing hug.

Keith tries to fight it, to push away before Shiro is speaking, “Keith! Where have you been! We’ve been looking for you for the past hour!” he says, and Keith is blinking because an hour? Has Keith really been gone a whole hour? He tries to say something, anything, to get Shiro to understand that that was impossible, that surely he wasn’t gone that long but Shiro is pulling him out of the hug and Keith’s voice is stuck in his throat. 

Shiro still looks like Shiro, missing arm and all but his hair, its-its long and it’s tied up in a bun. Keith backs away from him quickly, “What happened to your hair?” he asked, going into a slightly defensive position. Shiro didn’t have long hair, he just didn’t--Shiro reached up to pull at the longer strands that framed his face, confusion crossing his features “I- Keith it’s always been like this are you okay?” he asked, reaching again for Keith but he backed away, shaking his head because Shiro didn’t have long hair.

Turning quickly Keith ran in the opposite direction, ignoring Shiro’s shouts as he made his way into the common area where the rest of the team stood, arguing with each other about what to do with the situation on hand because he just disappeared Allura! No warning at all! He watched as the group continued to argue before Pidge noticed that he was in the room and shouted at the others to Shut Up! 

Keith glanced at his team mates, noticing that they all looked normal except for Lance whose hair was curly what-- before Shiro came in after him, slightly out of breath before announcing, “So Keith's back!”

Instantly everyone began to shout over one another, some in relief that Keith was back and other trying to demand answers out of him and Keith, so overwhelmed by the attention and the fact that Shiro had long hair and Lance had curly hair he exploded. 

“Stop!” he shouted, causing everyone in the room to grow quiet and concern to cross their faces. “I don’t--I don’t know what's going on but,” he rounded on Shiro who stepped back in surprise, “You are not Shiro! Or, at least, not the Shiro I know because his hair is short! And you!” he rounded on Lance this time who, instead of flinching back stood his ground, giving Keith a glare that rivaled his own, “Your hair isn’t curly! And I just want to know what is going on here!” He shouted, breath coming out in short pants as he watched everyone around look at him like he was a stranger when he wasn’t.

Allura was the first one to speak up, regarding Keith with a curious look, “Keith what where you doing before you came here?” she asked, looking at him expectantly. 

“I was in the common room with Lance and Hunk when all of a sudden there was this bright light and then the next thing I knew I was here,” he said, crossing his arms defensively. 

Hunk made a strange noise before butting in, “Uh, buddy I think your confused because Lance was definitely in the training room and it was you and I that was messing with that uh trinket,” he said, looking at Keith strangely. 

Keith let out a frustrated growl, “No it was you and Lance,” he said, confused and angry and frustrated because he was there, “I was there Hunk! I’m telling yo--”

“You are not our Keith,” Allura butts in, causing everyone in the room to freeze. She had her eyes narrowed but upon speaking her expression softened. She glanced at him, a small smile on her face. “When you walked in I noticed that your quintessence wasn’t the same, similar yes, but,” she glanced around the room, taking in everyone's expressions before continuing, “but I believe that you come from another universe.” she finished.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoy! I hope to start working on the next chapter as soon as possible and depending on how that pans out this story might just be two chapters! Thanks for reading!


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